


Lazy and Cowardly

by roidadidou



Category: Super Science Friends (Cartoon)
Genre: Guns, i am incapable of writing funny things i can only write deep philosophical arguments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 19:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18835540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roidadidou/pseuds/roidadidou
Summary: Churchill asks Tapputi why she refuses to use firearms.





	Lazy and Cowardly

Another day, another training exercise. This day felt different, though; instead of leading the Super Science Friends to a classroom, a grass field, or a gym, the team's commander simply took them downstairs. Everyone lost count of the floors they scaled down. But they were all grateful when Churchill stopped them and opened a metal door.  


The room was brightly lit, and all of that light bouncing off of the concrete walls hurt their eyes after coming from the dark blue hallways.  


“Since when did the Big Ben have a shooting range?” Marie Curie blurted. Her voice came back at her from every corner of the room until it faded away.  


“Since I started living here,” Churchill replied. A man in a medal-covered suit, presumably a soldier being temporarily occupied by the Prime Minister's lesson, was waiting for them. In his hands was an unloaded pistol.  


“Private, give them a demonstration.” Churchill instruction. The man nodded, and with almost robotic precision, loaded six bullets into the chambers of the firearm and turned to the target.  


_Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!_  


The team covered their ears with pained grimaces on their faces. But after the paper target zipped forward on the automated rack, and was ripped down and displayed, they saw that only the very center of the target had been punctured.  


Everyone was impressed… Except for Tapputi.  


“All of us already have powers, dipshit. What do we need to shoot for?”  


The insult towards the country's leader made the general standing behind him wince. Churchill didn't take it personally.  


“Because all of you can get tired. We've seen Tesla run out of juice before.” He replied calmly.  


Tapputi scowled. Churchill gingerly took the gun from the other man's grip and held it out to her by the barrel.  


“Why don't you start?”  


A withered hand pushed the offer away.  


“I'm not touching that thing. I've lived three thousand years without knowing how to use it, and I can go three thousand more.”  


Finally, the politician’s fuse was burning. His brow furrowed.  


“You can't rely on butcher knives for every battle.”  


“Try me.”  


The other members of the team agreed to participate in the exercise, although some were more hesitant than others to wield a weapon that loud. Einstein and Curie did very well, while Darwin and Tesla were clumsy.  


Their leader was tired of fighting with the witch doctor, so while everyone else was having their aim and posture corrected, Tapputi stood in the back of the room with an expression that described disdain.  


After everyone had their turn, and improved as much as was possible in a single session, they were released from the lesson and allowed to go back to their rooms. Climbing the flights of stairs upward was much harder than coming down.  


Tapputi easily forgot about the whole ordeal and went straight back to brewing alchemical concoctions… Until Churchill knocked on her door.  


“Yeah?” She answered, not willing to leave the table. Churchill invited himself in.  


“I'd like to speak with you about earlier.” He said gruffly. Tapputi sighed and turned to look at him.  


“What? What do you want?”  


“I want to know the real reason why you refused to use the gun.”  


She didn't have an immediate answer. There was a tense moment of silence.  


“Because it… Makes you lazy. A coward.” She finally answered. That surprised him.  


“How so?”  


Her anger was replaced by pensive thought.  


“Well… When people used swords, and daggers, it was about… Chivalry. There were rules-”  


“We have rules now.” Churchill interjected.  


“Don't interrupt me.”  


How many times did a woman call him out for speaking above her? Not enough to teach him a lesson, apparently, but Tapputi's harsh voice shut him up.  


“It was equal. But then - somewhere, I don't know where, - life became about having the biggest stick.”  


Churchill was surprised to see how thoughtful she could be. Was it because nobody ever gave her the chance?  


“It feels like _every single part_ of invention now is about making something work for a bigger weapon. Hell, that tall lanky bastard in the other room made a fucking death ray!”  


She scratched her chin as her eyes studied the various trinkets on her shelves.  


“And it makes you lazy. And a coward. Because now, you… You can kill a million people with a word and never think about what's happening to them. Almost like you give the orders for fun.”  


“As opposed to what?” The politician finally asked.  


“I don't know, having to think about whether you really _want_ to ram your sword into a guy who just fell off his horse. Because the blood is _literally_ on your hands after that.”  


Maybe that last part came from personal experience.  


“Look, you can give anybody a gun and tell them to shoot someone from a hundred feet away, and they'll probably do it. But - I… Have your only weapon be a knife, and have them up close to you, and you'd probably think of the humanity you're taking away from them.”  


She turned back to her table and resumed her work as if nothing had been said.  


“I dunno. I just don't like guns.”  


Churchill, unsure of how to respond to anything that she told him, sniffed and straightened his hat. His cigar was now almost burnt out.  


“Hmm. I see… Well… You can just keep using your knives if that's… Your personal belief.”  


Her hands froze over the table, but she didn't say anything.  


“I'll… I'll leave you to it, then.”  


“Hmmph.” Was her only reply before he left.


End file.
